An important High Court challenge regarding the scope of employers' redeployment obligations during restructures will be a key case to watch in the coming year, lawyers say.
When HR and other leaders are addressing interpersonal conflict at work, it's important to be mindful of the "subversive" impact some language has, a specialist says.
The Fair Work Commission is treating allegations of s-xual harassment as a "very serious matter", but employers still need strong evidence and thorough processes to defend summary dismissals, a workplace lawyer says.
Leadership is the first of seven areas employers must address to meet their positive duty to eliminate s-xual harassment, but what is "proportionate and appropriate" will vary between organisations, a workplace lawyer says.
There's a "relatively high threshold" that employers need to meet when taking disciplinary action against an employee for out-of-hours misconduct, a workplace lawyer says.
Medibank is doubling the number of employees in its four-day working trial, after reporting higher levels of engagement, job satisfaction and wellbeing in the first six months.
Best-practice workplace investigations are now conducted with far more sensitivity, but it's crucial not to lose sight of what's required from a legal perspective, an employment lawyer says.
Conversations about employee misbehaviour and misconduct are typically not handled well, or avoided altogether, because they're "hard", but this only causes issues to escalate, a communications expert warns.
It's vital for employers to undertake a "holistic and careful assessment" of their independent contractors' arrangements, ahead of the imminent changes to sham contracting claims, a lawyer says.
Right-of-entry changes that began in July are one of the most important but overlooked topics stemming from the Closing Loopholes laws, according to a workplace lawyer.
All employers should consider putting in place a workplace s-xual harassment prevention plan, even though such plans are only expressly prescribed in one jurisdiction, according to a risk management expert.
Recent events have shone a spotlight on whistleblowing, placing employers firmly on notice that their response to a protected disclosure could be subject to intense scrutiny. Watch this webcast to understand the role HR plays in this challenging space.